Thursday, October 30, 2014

Planning Christmas 2014

My husband the Panda and I have adopted an easy rule to make gift-giving at Christmas easier for both of us, given our limited budget:

- something to wear
- something to read
- something you want
- something you need

Last year I did my best to make what I could, and save money on the things I couldn't.  The 'read' was easy--he has an Amazon wishlist that included Kindle downloads.  No problem, and easy to keep secret.

I also knew that he needed new laces for his work shoes; somehow he managed to fray the ones he had, so that was another cheap purchase.

But then we got into the 'want' and 'wear'.  To be fair, I could have cheaped out and made a 2-for-1, but I'm not that much cheapskate.  I knew he needed a winter hat, so I purchased a pattern to go with the expensive Scottish wool yarn I'd purchased from a little yarn store in North Carolina, and got to work on a flat cap (also known I suppose as a driver's cap).

Yet I wasn't done impressing myself.  I've used freezer paper stencils before, but I was going to take it to a whole new level.  I was deliberately going to rip off a design that had been part of a pre-order bonus for a Bioware game that I hadn't even heard of until it was released as a trilogy.  Even then, when I purchased said trilogy for the Panda for Christmas 2012, I didn't know anything about it.

Any guesses?

If you said:


You'd be correct.

Yes, the hoodie is hand-painted.  No, the Panda is not allowed to wash it without my direct supervision.

But how am I going to top that this year?  

Hmm...

- something to wear:  I have no ideas.  Mayyyyybe a new black belt for work?
- something to read:   Easy.  I have the ever-present Amazon wishlist to guide me.
- something he wants:  He's told me repeatedly that he wants a holster for his handgun.  There's just one problem: I know nothing about guns!  If I take it to the new Cabela's in town, would they be able to tell me which one I need??
- something he needs:  Do they make automatic panda-trimmers?  No?  Hm.  Possibly another pair of pajama pants for winter, since he only has one fluffy pair.

But none of this is handmade!  What to do!  I shall consult Ravelry for ideas...

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